Published 5:30 am, Thursday, April 5, 2007

A little-known East Texas mystery about missing jewelry worn by Laurel Clark, one of seven astronauts who perished in NASA's 2003 shuttle Columbia accident, deepened Wednesday amid a bid by Washington lawmakers to have the agency's politically embattled inspector general dismissed.

On Wednesday, NASA IG Robert Cobb declined to comment on the calls for his dismissal as well as 69 allegations lodged against him with a White House ethics council. The council alleged Cobb attempted to shore up NASA's reputation by thwarting an attempt by his own investigators and the Texas Rangers to enlist the help of Crime Stoppers in the recovery of a missing gold-and-diamond anniversary ring and an earring worn by Clark aboard Columbia.

The ethics council also concluded that Cobb, a former White House associate counsel, made abusive comments to his staff and lacked independence in his investigative duties.

Earlier this week, the chairs of two congressional panels responsible for NASA oversight called on President Bush to dismiss Cobb from the IG post he has held for five years.

Dr. Jonathan Clark, Laurel Clark's husband and a former NASA flight surgeon, said a Crime Stoppers report may have helped recover his wife's jewelry.

"I was willing to go to any measure to recover them, including a reward and amnesty — the whole nine yards," he said.

Columbia disintegrated in the skies south of Dallas on Feb. 1, 2003, scattering debris across East Texas and Louisiana.

NASA's image

According to portions of the ethics council report made public by the House Science and Technology Committee, Cobb became "ballistic" when he learned of the Crime Stoppers proposal, saying that its release would "make NASA look bad" and shake public confidence in the agency.

Clark said he turned to the inspector general's office in early 2004 after several colleagues involved in the recovery of his wife's remains told him that a ring and earring had been recovered, though the keepsakes had not been accounted-for.

Though he was unable to verify the recovery of the ring, Clark turned to U.S. Air Force pathologists for help with the small earring worn in his wife's left ear. The earring was evident in X-rays of her left ear, and there was a record it had been turned over to NASA, Clark said.

He asked imagery experts to examine video of his wife's left hand during Columbia's descent to Earth. Though the imagery analysis revealed the ring was not present, Clark said his wife often wore the anniversary band on a necklace or possibly placed it in her pocket.

"I have thought about going back to where they landed and digging around," he said.

His pursuit of an explanation led to a meeting with Cobb in April 2004. Clark said the inspector general told him he would not issue a formal report on the search for the jewelry "because it would look bad for NASA."

Texas Ranger Capt. Tony Leal said in a statement Wednesday that the investigation was closed at the request of NASA. A spokesman for the Rangers said a report into the incident did not reveal who at the space agency called for the termination.

The ethics council concluded the Rangers lost their ability to pursue new leads without the Crime Stoppers report. Though Cobb never told them directly to close the matter, his objections served the same purpose.

In another incident outlined by the ethics council, Cobb allegedly blocked a report from going to the State Department that someone hacked a NASA computer in 2002.

The hacking resulted in the theft of files with national security implications.

Cobb's alleged opinion was that the theft wasn't really a "loss" for NASA since the agency still had the data.

Report cites arrogance

The ethics report suggested that Cobb's demeanor with co-workers was arrogant and his language frequently profane, sometimes vulgar.

Cobb told the council he did get "passionate" about matters important to the office and with people who were insubordinate.

Cobb's management style earned him some praise from Sean O'Keefe , NASA's administrator until 2005. The two men met regularly over lunch, occasionally golfed and sometimes traveled together on NASA business, a closeness the ethics council found troubling.

"We were (determined) to demonstrate that the IG's access to me was strong and that I would exhibit a capacity to act on criticism and recommendations brought to me," O'Keefe said in an e-mail exchange with the Houston Chronicle.

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